Bulgaria

About the Flag

The Republic of Bulgaria is situated in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. It has a coast on the Black Sea, and to the north a large part of the Danube River forms the border line between Bulgaria and Romania. With these two water basins, Bulgaria has a strong shipping industry with a large fleet and well developed shipbuilding and ship repair industries. The country was part of the Eastern Communist Block until 1989 when a peaceful turn to a democratic rule took place. It is a full member of the United Nations including the IMO and a member of the European Union. The capital city is Sofia, and the language spoken is Bulgarian. The country has a civil law system and is governed by a unicameral National Assembly with a President as the Chief of State and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers as the Head of Government.

The Bulgarian economy continues its difficult adjustment from four decades of Communist rule with extremely high inflation. Many aspects of a market economy are already in place and functioning, but much of the industrial sector has yet to reestablish itself. Its chief exports are machinery and agricultural products, and its principal trading partners are the CIS countries. The unit of currency is the Bulgarian lev.

The law governing ship registration in Bulgaria is the Shipping Merchant Code (1970), Articles 27-62. More details are provided in the Special Regulations (1992) for the entering of ships in the ship registers at the Bulgarian ports. The authority entitled to register vessels under the Bulgarian flag is the Marine Administration.